in Food & Drink

Food Spotlight : Capsicum Annuum (Peppers)

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My late sister liked bell peppers.  Me?  I never paid any attention.  It was an ingredient in a recipe.  Fine!  If it wasn’t in the recipe, I never missed it.  To me, if I had celery why did I need bell pepper? Moved from Florida to Texas and in this state, particularly in two cities where I lived (El Paso and Austin), the folks love their fajitas, which is made with small pieces of meat (chicken, beef or pork), and chunks of veggies, mainly onions and bell peppers.  Bell peppers in all different colors.  I must say they make the dish pretty.

Anyway! I like fajitas.  If it weren’t for this dish I don’t think I would have even realized that different color peppers exists and also have different flavors.  For example, the red bell pepper actually tastes sweeter than the green bell pepper.  The green pepper if you put too much in a recipe can taste kind of bitter.  I blame my ignorance on a family tradition.  My mom only bought green bell peppers.  My sister only bought green bell peppers.  So?  I only bought green bell peppers.  I learned by example.  It’s not my fault!I watch a lot of cooking shows and once heard one of the TV chefs say that a red bell pepper has more vitamin C than an orange.  Did you know that?  Coming from Florida I was inclined not to believe that. But even though it’s true, I would still rather have an orange. Wouldn’t you?

I also recently discovered that there was such a thing as a purple bell pepper.  There is a website called johnnyseeds.com. There is even a sweet chocolate organic pepper.  I’m not sure I want to try it.  But if you’re brave enough, go for it!

There seems to be a little confusion over the use of the word capsicum.  In my mind, that is.  I always thought capsicum was the word used for a hot red pepper. But I was watching an Indian chef on TV and she used the word “capsicum” for the dish she was preparing, however, she was talking about bell pepper.  I was confused but an Indian guy on a Q&Asite called Quora clarified the difference between the bell pepper and capsicum. It turns out that we are both right!

I am not really a huge fan of bell peppers.  But I can live with them.  So if a recipe calls for the ingredient, I prefer to use RED.

What about you?

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  • Question of

    Do you like bell peppers?

    • Yes. Love ’em.
    • No. Hate ’em.
    • Eh! Neutral.
  • Question of

    If you like bell peppers, do your prefer a particular color?

    • Green
    • Red
    • Orange
    • Yellow
    • Purple
    • All Colors
    • A mix of colors
    • I don’t like bell peppers
  • Question of

    The botanical name for both bell pepper and red pepper is capsicum annuum.

    • Yes. That is correct.
    • No it’s not! You made that up!
  • Question of

    Do you have a favorite recipe where bell peppers are a main ingredient?

    • Yes. (See comments.)
    • No.

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Written by Cmoneyspinner

2 Comments

  1. Bell peppers make a great ingredient to many dishes. The assorted colors are great with many as well. I like stuffed bell peppers with hamburger.

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